many thanks to all well-wishers and advice-givers

That bit with the dog was amazing. It was the middle of a nice night in Jasper, very quiet, and as we were momentarily stopped everybody on the bus was either quietly stretching their legs outside or waiting to carry on. Out of nowhere this large, shaggy, friendly dog ambles onto the bus. It walked the entire aisle and back, pausing momentarily to sniff interesting things or people, then hopped off and sauntered away. Nobody said anything, but for a moment we all looked at each other and I could tell we were all thinking the same thing — “Did that actually just happen, or did I hallucinate it?” [May 16, 2012]

you can always learn things. even on sick days!

Have you ever had an activity that was forever tainted by sickness? I know it’s a bit irrational, but I’m talking about the way you do something while sick and never want to do that thing anymore when you are well again. For instance, I never again tried to watch The Prisoner. More recently, I stopped playing the game Atom Zombie Smasher even though I was very addicted. I got sick, spent the night tossing and turning, and had wild, AZS-themed dreams wherein I couldn’t get the music out of my head. Ever since then I haven’t touched it. [November 28, 2011]